Downtown The Dalles shopping opportunities will be on the catwalk this Friday, Sept. 20, at the Our Town, The Dalles Fashion Show.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., at The Dalles Civic Auditorium and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 plus two cans of food to benefit the food bank, or $10 each. Proceeds benefit the local food bank, including a portion of merchandise sold that evening.

“People started coming in saying, ‘You know, we don’t come downtown anymore because we think there’s nothing here,’” said Luise Langheinrich, who conceived the event, which is a The Dalles Main Street program. “I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, the community is starting to think there’s nothing down here. OK, we need to show the community that there is something down here.’”

Langheinrich says she hopes the event will help instill a sense of optimism and opportunity for a downtown revival. Among the shops featured on the catwalk will be Langheinrich’s Lines of Designs, Anana’s Boutique, Savvy Seconds, JC Penney and Whole Ball of Yarn. Belle Star western wear will also be on stage, even though the shop is a bit outside the downtown area. The stores will be providing their own models for the event, she said, many from their own clientele.

Other downtown businesses will be featured in what are being called “pop-up shops” in the ballroom for the evening. The Theatre Company of The Dalles will be selling costumes, Traveling Farm Girls will set up their vintage interior design offerings, and several more, including hair and shoe offerings.

“As people see things in the theater, hopefully they will get in the mood to buy something in the pop-up shops,” Langheinrich said.

And if they’re in the mood for food and drink, Sahara Pizza will sell pizza by the slice; 15 Mile Winery will sell wine and beer; and The Riverenza will introduce its new line of baked goods.

Langheinrich has seen a number of people step up to help support the effort. Videographer John Hardham has donated his services and will be projecting the models on large white screens on the wing walls donated to the Civic by Meadow Outdoor Advertising. Kase Construction put up the hardware to hang the screens.

“The audience is a ways away from the stage [because of the orchestra area], so we wanted to have big screens,” Lanheinrich said. The screens will remain in place after the event, and can be used for later events.

Oregon Cherry Growers will serve as the major sponsor for the event, in line with its theme of “Grow with Us” and its effort to work closely with the downtown community. Other downtown businesses have also stepped up, including Rebecca Street Physical Therapy and Hattenhauer Distributing Co.

Janeal Booren of the local food bank will serve as the evening’s host.

“We want people in the community to know how many families they feed,” Langheinrich said. “The number has gone up.”

Representatives of the Civic will also be talking about the capital campaign to renovate the theater, the last remaining unrestored space in the building.

Tickets are available at the door and at Lines of Designs, Ananas Boutique, Sigman’s Flowers and Whole Ball of Yarn.